Juvenile suspect questioned in Orleans home break-ins

Items stolen included tools, electric motors, alternators, various firearm accessories including re-loading equipment and different types of barrels from firearms, the sheriff's office said in a press release.

An investigation into the rash of breaking and entering complaints over the past several weeks in the village of Orleans has led a deputy from the Ionia County Sheriff's Office to a 16-year-old male suspect from the Orleans Township area.

Items stolen included tools, electric motors, alternators, various firearm accessories including re-loading equipment and different types of barrels from firearms, the sheriff's office said in a press release.

The deputy, who is a community policing office assigned to the Easton/Orleans area, began looking into five different break-ins at residences, one of which had been broken into three times. While working in the community, the deputy has gotten to know many of the neighbors in the area where the crimes occurred. After speaking with them, he was able to gather information that led him to the suspect, whom he has questioned.

The investigation has now focused on a 16-year-old male subject from the Orleans Township area. Some of the stolen property has been recovered, and what has been identified has been returned to the victims, the release said.

The sheriff's office has requested felony warrants on the suspect, and the case is currently being reviewed by the Ionia County Prosecutor's Office, said the release.

The suspect has not been identified because he is a juvenile and because he has not been charged.